Chen Chahua

01 · Lineage & Regional School

At the age of twelve she entered the Xinfengyu luantan training school, studying under the senior masters Weng Fengmiao and Wang Lanxiang, and later joined the Dagaoxing, Shengfulian, Xinyangchun and Xinhongyu troupes. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ouju Opera in Wenzhou, Zhejiang: Ou opera centres on Wenzhou city, Zhejiang, and is popular in the counties of Wenzhou and parts of Lishui and Taizhou, its influence reaching northern Fujian and north-eastern Jiangxi; because it is mainly luantan and also sings Kun, high-pitched, Hui, tanhuang and shidiao it was formerly called “Wenzhou luantan”, the troupes and plays of the various vocal styles coexisting and cross-fertilising within one genre. Ou opera is the most influential operatic genre of the Wenzhou region, formerly called “Wenzhou luantan”; it formed about the early Qing and circulates mainly through the counties of Wenzhou and parts of Lishui and Taizhou in Zhejiang, its influence reaching northern Fujian and north-eastern Jiangxi. Its repertory numbers more than four hundred and fifty pieces, mostly from nanxi, Yuan-Ming zaju and Ming-Qing chuanqi.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

After the founding of the People's Republic of China she joined the Wenzhou Shengli Luantan Troupe, later renamed the Wenzhou Ouju Opera Troupe, and starred successively in Hu Die Bei (The Butterfly Cup), Kunshan Xian Ling (The Magistrate of Kunshan County), Zhong Li Niangniang (Lady Zhongli) and other plays, while Gao Ji yu Wu Sanchun (Gao Ji and Wu Sanchun), the most widely loved of them, was hailed as "the Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai of southern Zhejiang". Together with the composer Li Zimin she carried out musical reform and solved the problem of men and women performing together in Ouju Opera. Within the documented technical tradition of Ouju Opera in Wenzhou, Zhejiang: Ou opera is a multi-vocal genre, mainly luantan and also singing Kun, high-pitched, Hui, tanhuang and shidiao. Its genuine traditional grand plays number eighty-four, known as “three Kun, four high, four Hui, four cold, five old”: the three Kun plays Lianhuan Ji, The Fisherman's Joy and Leifeng Pagoda; the four high-pitched plays Leigong Bao, Xunhuan Bao, Baoen Ting and Ziyang Guan; the four Hui plays Huilong Ge, Longfeng Ge, Shuangqiulian and Tianyuan Pei; and four cold plays seldom performed and five old plays. Its stage art is distinctive, its roles capable in both civil and martial parts: civil plays are fine and restrained, with such techniques as the “rubbing step”, “sparrow step” and “triple-jump step”; martial plays fuse “small southern boxing” staff and fist into the combat, fiery and vigorous with strong local character. Its make-up and facial designs use bold linear blocks to highlight colour contrast, while text-faces and animal-faces form a style of their own. The various vocal styles are sung with distinctive charm: Kun singing flowing and distant, luantan brilliant and vehement, Hui singing plain and level, tanhuang gentle and moving, shidiao plain and fluent, and high-pitched singing dry with choral support and drum-and-gong marking the beat, the ringing great gong, rich drum patterns and the unique striking of the ancient foot-drum giving Ou opera's music still greater character and displaying moving charm. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Lianhuan Ji": One of the “three Kun” of Ou opera, a traditional grand Kun-vocal play. "The Fisherman's Joy": One of the “three Kun” of Ou opera, a traditional grand Kun-vocal play. "Leifeng Pagoda": One of the “three Kun” of Ou opera, a traditional grand Kun-vocal play. "Leigong Bao, Xunhuan Bao, Baoen Ting, Ziyang Guan": The “four high” plays of Ou opera, traditional grand high-pitched-vocal plays.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Female, Han nationality, born in March 1931 and deceased in January 2015, a native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. A national representative bearer of Ouju Opera, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. She served for many years as head of the Wenzhou Ouju Opera Troupe, and most of the disciples she trained went on to success, among them Weng Moshan, Xie Feifei, Feng Caiqiu and Cai Xiaoqiu, all of whom have become mainstays of Ouju Opera.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Chen Chahua · National Representative Bearer Archive